As i continue watching, a medium sized spider scuttles
into my view. She is remaking the web and i know that the original web was hers
and she consumed it and is now rebuilding. Now i can tell for sure that what i took
to be a spider is actually a moth. The spider doesn't disturb that moth but
rebuilds around it. She starts with the center piece and drop lines before she
begins making the sticky spiral. I love watching her make her web and how
quickly she works. When she gets to the outer webbing she begins to move very
fast. She finishes and returns to the center to wait.
As i'm watching, a very large male lion with an
impressive mane sits down in front of me. He is between me and the web. The web
is no longer in front of a hedge but is free standing somehow. It's probably
four of five feet across and a couple of feet in height. More like a fence than
an orb web, although i can still see the traditional octogon-like shape on the
left-hand piece of it. Now i can see through to web to a vista of rolling hills
beyond. Another large moth has gotten entangled in the web several inches to
the right of where the already dead moth is caught (which is well right of the
spiral part of the web). The spider runs over to the live moth and begins to
prepare it. First is the bite to paralyze the prey and then she begins to wrap
the still moving insect in silk.
The entire time this spider is working, the lion is just
sitting between me and the show and i'm concerned that he is going to get up
and walk away. I'm equally concerned that he will come my way and attack or
walk away from me and damage the web by walking right through it. The spider
continues wrapping the moth and, just as i feared, the lion gets up and walks
into the main part of the web and tears through it. The spider and prey are
still "safe" but the main part of the web is destroyed. I feel bad
for the spider because she's going to have to rebuilt the entire thing but then
i think maybe she won't since she already has food.

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